This is a collection guide. It is a description of archival material held in the Special Collections Division,
J.Y. Joyner Library, East Carolina University. The materials described here are physically available in our
reading room. To see what's been digitized in this collection, click on the thumbnail at the top right of this page
or look for hyperlinks in the container list and/or the preliminary inventory.

Collection (1942-1945) of materials belonging to Wray Raphael Herring, a member of the U.S. Navy B-1 Band which was the first all-African American Navy Band during World War II. Included are programs, clippings, and sound recordings of radio broadcasts (78 RPM vinyl radio transcription discs) relating to the U.S. Navy B-1 Band; and official correspondence, programs, printed forms, sheet music signed by members of the U.S. Navy B-1 Band, a poem and other printed materials relating to Herring's service in the U.S. Navy B-1 Band, the U.S. Navy Pre-Flight School Band and Orchestra ("The Cloudbuster Band") at Chapel Hill, North Carolina, and the Manana Ridge Band (while at the Manana Barracks in Hawaii).

March 23, 2001, (unprocessed), 2 items, 24 pages; Collection of 2 pamphlets relating to Wray R. Herring's service in the U.S. Navy Pre-Flight School Band and other musical units, 1943-44, including: "The Cloudbuster Band in Pictures," (Chapel Hill: Welfare & Public Relations Office, U.S. Navy Pre-Flight School Band, 1944), 16 p., and "For High Achievement: Official Presentation, The Army-Navy E to the Men and Women of the National Munitions Corporation of Carrboro, North Carolina for Excellence in the production of war materials," a program featuring the U.S. Navy Pre-Flight Band, Chapel Hill, Memorial Hall, January 22, 1943, 8 p. Donor: Wray R. Herring.

March 23, 2001, (unprocessed addition 1), 10 items, 20 pages; Addition to collection relating to Wray B. Herring's service in the U.S. Navy Pre-Flight School Band & Orchestra, the U.S. Navy B-1 Band, and the Manana Ridge Band and including programs, printed forms and other printed and manuscript materials, 1942-45. Donor: Wray R. Herring.

October 25, 2003, (unprocessed addition 2), 7 items, 0.56 cubic feet; Collection (22 September 1944 - 15 August 1945, n.d.) of programs, clippings, and sound recordings of radio broadcasts (78 RPM vinyl radio transcription discs) relating to the U.S. Navy B-1 Band, the first all-African American Navy Band during World War II. See preliminary inventory attached. Donor: Wray R. Herring.

July 20, 2015, (unprocessed addition 3), 0.013 cubic feet; Items related to Wray Herring’s World War II military career as a member of the U.S. Navy B-1 Band include official correspondence (1945), a 1943 concert program, a poem (1944, with accompanying 2005 letter) he wrote while in Hawaii at Manana Barracks, a menu (1945) for a buffet and dance while at Manana Barracks, sheet music for 3rd Saxophone for “Night Mists in the Canyon” signed on the reverse by B-1 Band members, 1945 American vs. National League All-Stars game program, and a 2001 U. S. B-1 Band survey filled out for Alex Albright. Gift of Wray R. Herring through Alex Albright.

Acquisition Information

Gift of Wray R. HerringGift of Wray R. Herring through Alex Albright

Access Restrictions

No restrictions

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